The Five Goats of Guangzhou · chapter 1 of 4
The Dry Village
没有水的村子
In a village with no rain, a little girl gives her last water to a tiny green plant. That evening, five colors of light appear in the sky.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久以前，南方有一个小村子。村子里，很久没有下雨了。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, nánfāng yǒu yí gè xiǎo cūnzi. Cūnzi lǐ, hěn jiǔ méiyǒu xià yǔ le.
Long ago, in the south, there was a little village. It had not rained there for a very long time.
- Xiao He 爷爷，我饿。碗里没有米了。
Yéye, wǒ è. Wǎn lǐ méiyǒu mǐ le.
Grandpa, I'm hungry. There's no rice left in my bowl.
- Grandpa 小禾，来，喝一点儿水。
Xiǎo Hé, lái, hē yìdiǎnr shuǐ.
Xiao He, come, have a little water.
- Xiao He 爷爷喝！我不渴。
Yéye hē! Wǒ bù kě.
You drink, Grandpa! I'm not thirsty.
- Grandpa 你喝！爷爷也不渴。
Nǐ hē! Yéye yě bù kě.
You drink! I'm not thirsty either.
- Xiao He 爷爷，你听！你的肚子在叫！
Yéye, nǐ tīng! Nǐ de dùzi zài jiào!
Grandpa, listen! Your tummy is calling out!
- Grandpa 哈哈！它在说：“我想吃米饭！”
Hāhā! Tā zài shuō: “Wǒ xiǎng chī mǐfàn!”
Ha ha! It is saying, "I want to eat rice!"
- Xiao He 我也想吃。白白的，热热的米饭。
Wǒ yě xiǎng chī. Báibái de, rèrè de mǐfàn.
Me too. White, hot rice.
- Grandpa 爷爷也想吃。爷爷想吃三碗！
Yéye yě xiǎng chī. Yéye xiǎng chī sān wǎn!
Grandpa wants some too. Grandpa wants three bowls!
- Xiao He 地里没有水，就没有米。我去看看，也许有一点儿绿。
Dì lǐ méiyǒu shuǐ, jiù méiyǒu mǐ. Wǒ qù kànkan, yěxǔ yǒu yìdiǎnr lǜ.
With no water in the fields, there's no rice. I'll go look. Maybe there is a little green.
- Grandpa 好，爷爷跟你一起去。
Hǎo, yéye gēn nǐ yìqǐ qù.
All right, Grandpa will go with you.
- Xiao He 你看！地上有好多大口，像大嘴！
Nǐ kàn! Dì shàng yǒu hǎoduō dà kǒu, xiàng dà zuǐ!
Look! The ground has so many big cracks, like big mouths!
- Grandpa 那是地在说：“我想喝水。”
Nà shì dì zài shuō: “Wǒ xiǎng hē shuǐ.”
That is the ground saying, "I want a drink."
- Xiao He 爷爷，这儿有小草！它是绿的！
Yéye, zhèr yǒu xiǎo cǎo! Tā shì lǜ de!
Grandpa, there's a little plant here! It's green!
- Grandpa 真的？在这么热的地上，它还是绿的。
Zhēn de? Zài zhème rè de dì shàng, tā hái shi lǜ de.
Really? On such hot ground, it is still green.
- Xiao He 你好，小草。我是小禾。
Nǐ hǎo, xiǎo cǎo. Wǒ shì Xiǎo Hé.
Hello, little plant. I'm Xiao He.
- Grandpa 小草听不见你说话。
Xiǎo cǎo tīng bú jiàn nǐ shuōhuà.
The little plant can't hear you.
- Xiao He 听得见！你看，它在动！小草，你也饿了吧？喝水吧。
Tīng de jiàn! Nǐ kàn, tā zài dòng! Xiǎo cǎo, nǐ yě è le ba? Hē shuǐ ba.
It can! Look, it's moving! Little plant, are you hungry too? Have some water.
- Grandpa 小禾，那是我们最后的水。
Xiǎo Hé, nà shì wǒmen zuìhòu de shuǐ.
Xiao He, that is the last of our water.
- Xiao He 没关系！小草喝了，就会变高。
Méi guānxi! Xiǎo cǎo hē le, jiù huì biàn gāo.
It's okay! If the plant drinks, it will grow tall.
- Grandpa 好孩子。天上的仙人看见了，也会高兴。
Hǎo háizi. Tiān shàng de xiānrén kànjiàn le, yě huì gāoxìng.
Good child. The immortals in the sky will see this and be happy.
- Xiao He 爷爷……你听。什么声音？
Yéye… nǐ tīng. Shénme shēngyīn?
Grandpa... listen. What's that sound?
- Grandpa 什么在响？在天上！
Shénme zài xiǎng? Zài tiān shàng!
What is ringing? It's up in the sky!
- Xiao He 爷爷！你看！天上有光！
Yéye! Nǐ kàn! Tiān shàng yǒu guāng!
Grandpa! Look! There are lights in the sky!
- Grandpa 红的，黄的，白的……还有绿的，黑的！
Hóng de, huáng de, bái de… háiyǒu lǜ de, hēi de!
Red, yellow, white... and green, and black!
- Xiao He 五个颜色！一，二，三，四，五！
Wǔ gè yánsè! Yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ!
Five colors! One, two, three, four, five!
- Grandpa 小禾，那是羊！天上有五只羊！
Xiǎo Hé, nà shì yáng! Tiān shàng yǒu wǔ zhī yáng!
Xiao He, those are goats! There are five goats in the sky!
- Xiao He 羊在飞！它们要来我们村子了！
Yáng zài fēi! Tāmen yào lái wǒmen cūnzi le!
The goats are flying! They're coming to our village!
What changed in the story?
- Why is the village so hungry?
“村子里，很久没有下雨了。”
- What does Grandpa's stomach do?
“你的肚子在叫！”……“它在说：‘我想吃米饭！’”
- What does Xiao He do with the last of their water?
“小草，你也饿了吧？喝水吧。”
- What does Grandpa see in the sky?
“红的，黄的，白的……还有绿的，黑的！”
- What does Grandpa say the lights are?
“那是羊！天上有五只羊！”